Attack on Eldunarí
by Dinos-like-flowers
Summary: After defeating Galbatorix Eragon travels to the far east in search of a place to begin his self-chosen exile, but what he finds instead causes him to reconsider his promises. He can't just leave these people to suffer, can he? Title may change.
1. Finches and Fishies

Attack on Titan and Inheritance cycle crossover

Attack on Eldunarí

Summary: After defeating Galbatorix Eragon travels to the far east in search of a place to begin his self-chosen exile, but what he finds instead causes him to reconsider his choices regarding his no-interference policy. He can't just leave these people to suffer, can he? Title may change.

I've been reading fanfics for a good while now, and even though I started many myself, I never found them good enough to actually post here. I really liked writing this particular story, even though there isn't really much happening yet.

Spoilers: All of the inheritance cycle, Shingeki no Kyojin up to chapter 50

Disclaimer: I do not own the Inheritance cycle or Shingeki no Kyojin.

Eragon yawned as Saphira glided downward towards the atol. The tiny ring-shaped island provided little shelter, but it would have to do. The glittering blue dragon was tired, and so was her Rider. After she landed on the pristine beach Eragon immediately slided off her back, groaning with discomfort. They had flown over the ocean for eleven days straight without landing, and it had made them both sore and miserable.

_I never knew we could do that_ Saphira commented after a long silence. _Flying for this long._

_The dragons helped. _he answered, as he started to relieve her of her saddle. The dragon hummed an affirmative and rolled her shoulders, glad to be rid of the annoying thing. Every time Saphira had run out of steam, the Eldunarí had given her their strength so they would not plummet out of the sky.

_How long do you think this sea can go on? _ Eragon asked, looking at the distant eastern horizon. _What if it is without an end, and just goes on and on until we forget what land is like?_

Saphira reveled in the warm sand, cleaning her scales from the long ordeal in the sky. _I do not think that likely. But if it does, we must simply make our own land.I am certain that with the combined strength of the Eldunarí we could make ourselves comfortable any place. Or we could turn back and make our home in the Eastlands._

_Let's hope it doesn't come to that. _He answered. The Eastlands had turned out to be beautiful, but none of the idyllic mountains, valleys and deserts had felt like home. And maybe they wouldn't, maybe he would never be able to think of any place other than Palancar Valley as his home. Maybe he would never find any place where he could find his peace. But every time he thought they had found a good spot and had stayed there for a few days, they had always left. And at some point they had run out of land and started flying oversea.

Saphira let out a low grumble and said: _Maybe we just aren't ready to settle down yet. _She began licking her talons. _You promised me an adventure, didn't you? We travelled far, but never encountered anything worthy of the term._

Eragon agreed. Hunting exotic animals and meeting with the people living on high wooden rafters along the eastern shore had been exiting, but after the war and battle with Galbatorix himself, everything seemed dulled, as if the world has had its edge taken off.

Saphira nudged him with her snout. _It would not be good to dwell on these things._ she said gently. _You are tired. Rest, and tomorrow will be a brighter day. Maybe we will even find land. Real land, unlike this tiny dune one can hardly turn their tails on._

Eragon smiled. _It has the most interesting shape though. I wonder how it was created, perfectly round and filled with another perfectly round lake. It looks like it was crafted by dwarves, or sung from the earth by elves._

Saphira chuckled. _Or it was a dragon who, like us, found herself without a good landing._

_Perhaps. We will probably never know._

_No, but I would like to think it was a dragon._

_Then it was. Goodnight, Saphira._

_Goodnight, little one._

Eragon's dreams were a motley mess of memories both good and bad. He dreamed of finding Saphira's egg, scrying Carvahall and finding it ruined and burned, sitting beside Oromis in the Crags of Tel'naeír, the dragon-killing lance stabbing Saphira at Belatona, Orik playing a game of riddles with Saphira while flying over the Hadarac desert. He awoke well-rested, but confused from the conflicting emotions that had plagued him during the night. Saphira was still deep asunder when he got up and stretched his stiff limbs. He looked at her for a bit, but after a while concluded that she would not wake just yet. So he took the time to sift the salt out of a bulb of seawater so he might wash himself. He also changed into a clean tunic and breeches, washed his smelly clothes and hung them from a gnarly tree to dry. Then he changed his mind and removed his tunic again, proceeding into the Dance of Snake and Crane. He was in the middle of the third set when Saphira awoke with a loud yawn. They greeted each other warmly before Saphira went to catch her breakfast and Eragon finished his set before switching to sword training. It was a delight to be using his muscles again after being confined to the saddle for so long, even though his body protested frequently.

Saphira returned before long, telling Eragon about schools of tiny multi-coloured fish in the circular lake and diving for the larger grey fish in the sea.

_They were delicious, all salty and juicy. It is a pity you no longer partake of meat. I am certain you would have found them tasty as well._

_Maybe I will at that. We have almost run out of food rations, and I would like to keep them for the journey over sea._

Eragon spent the rest of the morning exploring the island while Saphira gave her scales an extensive tongue-bath. It consisted mainly of sand and some of the same knobby trees he had hung his clothes on. He found that the bottom of the salt lake was covered in living coral. He marvelled at it, remembering how the dwarves had used coral as proof that stone is alive and growing, while the elves had taught him it was only the exoskeleton of a tiny creature. He tentatively cast his mind over the rocks and was delighted to find tiny pinpricks of life speckling the coral. He told Saphira about his findings, who was amused, but not thoroughly impressed.

It only took Eragon two hours to circle the island, but it had left him hot and sweaty. So he just bathed again, knowing that he might not have another opportunity to do so the coming days.

The sun stood high in the sky by the time the dragon and her Rider said farewell to the island and took to the skies again. They flew high where the air was thin and cold and Saphira could muster greater speeds with less energy. As the days went by, they spotted more and more little islands. Some were made of solid, jagged rock, others out of coral reef and still others just seemed to be clusters of trees rising from the waves. They stopped often those days, fascinated by the uniqueness of all the little places. They sometimes went off course for miles and miles just to catch another little island. Some had weird, exotic plants and others had birds that weren't afraid of him at all, without him even having to speak to them in the Ancient Language. There were also fruits in all sorts of exotic flavours and shapes. One island even had plants that looked like they bore fruit, but actually had sticky appendages that were meant to catch insects and tiny birds.

And then there were no more islands. They had had such a relaxing time they had forgotten how hard it actually was to fly for days. Before long they became sullen and irritable again, regretting having left the beautiful islands. They were seriously considering returning, but in the end Saphira ended the discussion with a curt sentence.

_I am a dragon, not one of those little finches you have come to like so much. Besides, I am sick of eating fish. I long for some real meat._ And there wasn't much argument after that.

They had left the last island behind them seven days ago, when Saphira first spotted land. They spoke exitedly with each other while the brown line grew faster and faster until they could discern steep cliffs and rocky beaches. Seagulls screeched indignantly when they approached, but Eragon and Saphira paid them no mind. The blue dragon bellowed happily when they saw the green fields appear beneath them, scaring a small herd of sheep that had been grazing closeby. Saphira eyed them hungrily, so Eragon laughed: _Go ahead, just drop me off by that knoll. I'll build a fire. It'll be just like old times. _

Except this time there was no Brom, or Murtagh, or Arya or Orik. Just him and the dragons.

While Saphira and the Eldunarí were excellent company, he missed having two-legged creatures around them. Dragons were, after all, dragons, and their thoughts and conversations worked differently. Suddenly the idea of being in strange land without any of his kind seemed so appaling to him, he could feel it physically. A sharp pang went up his spine and heat rose to his face. His hands trembled, so he quickly clenched them into fists while he coiled himself into a ball by the half-constructed fireplace.

_Eragon!_ shouted Saphira, feeling his anguish, but he shut her out. She of all beings would understand his feelings, having believed all her life that she was one of the last dragons alive, but her sympathy would not help him. His chest heaved heavily while he sobbed. The faces of his friends ghosted trough his mind. Roran, Orik, Brom, Murtagh, Blodghärm, Nasuada, Gertrude and all his friends from Carvahall... Arya... He tried pushing her from his head to focus back on the other people he missed, but the image was so intense, so clear, her face so beautiful and captivating, he found himself unable to think of anything else.

The exotic and interesting islands had distracted him from his thoughts, but here, among familiar-looking fields and trees, he found himself completely overrun by his own thoughts. Feelings he had suppressed and marginalized for weeks suddenly popped up like vengeful spirits. He did not sense Saphira approaching until she nudged his huddled frame with her nose. From an instincual longing for companionship he opened up his mind and hugged her mentally and physically, feeling guilty for giving her his pain, but even more grateful of her presence.

_Little one _she said softly.

They sat there like that for minutes and hours. The day grew longer and the time for hunting and foraging went and passed. The air became cold and the sun dropped below the horizon. At last Eragon pulled away from his dragon, who had been patiently waiting for him to recover from the turmoil in his head.

_Thanks, Saphira_

She only hummed and blinked in response.

_Ah, just look at how dark the sky became already. The day came and past, and time meant for celebration was wasted with grief. I even kept you from your hunt._

_There is no need to apologize. I require your well-being more than I need fat little I will not have you call this time wasted. You have kept these thoughts within you for to long, and they have festered like a lodged arrowhead. _

_You are right. I was so busy being happy that I forgot about all the rest. Ah, Saphira, I had forgotten how much it hurts._

She lit the half-finished campfire site with a flame from her nostril. _I know _she said. _Go rest a bit. Your emotions have drained you._

_No, I think I would be best helped with some fresh air, some wind to blow the cobwebs out of my head._

_Very well. But take _Brisingr_. These lands might resemble our own, but they are still foreign to us. Better to be cautious._

Eragon agreed and took the brilliant blue sword from his saddlebags. _I'll be back in an hour or so. _he told her and jogged into the twilight landscape. It truly was much alike to Alagaesia, although there were many plants he didn't recognise. The rolling fields ended just a few miles away from the coast, where they were swallowed by short decidious trees, bent from the constant sea-wind. He wound his way through it. It was not an old forest. Most of the trees were only just reaching maturity, a fact that Eragon found curious. The evening air felt especially cold against his hot, tear-streaked face, but he soon grew accostumed to it, and after a while it only felt soothing. Already he could sense his thoughts becoming clearer and his emotions more subdued.

An hour had passed when he exited the forest. At least, that is what Eragon thought when he stepped into the clearing. In fact, the forest spread outward for another mile or so in the direction he was going. What made him think he exited the forest was the fact that he was currently surrounded by short, stocky buildings.

They had obviously been abandoned for decades. Shrubbery and grass had taken over the streets, and most houses had their roofs missing. Instead the crowns of the same short trees stuck out above the houses' empty frames. Eragon found the sight incredibly sad to watch. Immediately he sent a mental image of the village to Saphira, who took wing the moment she recieved it. Eragon reached out with his mind, but found no trace of human life anywhere in the near vicinity. Curious, he started looking around, his hand on the pommel of his sword. What he found made him swallow in revulsion. This town not just been abandoned. Several of the houses bore the marks of a fight and when he turned a corner, he found a large mount of bones, bleached from age. It seemed that even the animals hadn't been at them, because none of the bones had teethmarks on them, or were cracked for the marrow. He swallowed dryly while Saphira landed with a loud crash. She sniffed the pile of bones

_They do no longer smell of man. They must have died a long time ago._

_Yes. I am guessing some war took them worries me more is the fact that no one has come here to reclaim the land, or even only bury these poor souls. People obviously lived here in the past, and it is good land. So why not now?_

_We can only guess, little one. But in the meantime I suggest caution. It might not mean anything, but maybe something is keeping people from returning here. In that case we must be on our guard._

She stomped the ground angrily. _I do not like this. It smells too much like war and danger and two-leg killers. Things we left behind us. I will not place you in this sort of danger anymore. Eragon, we should leave this place be and roost in a mountain, where we can see the arrows flying our way. _

_Saphira, you are tired, and it is dark, and we do not know if there even are any mountains should rest by the knoll and search for a better place tomorrow. I do not like it any more than you do, but these are very old tracks. I very much doubt the forces that slew these people are still at large today. We should be safe if we just stay the one night. Besides, we are strong! A mighty dragon and rider, along with many Eldunarí. Whatever comes at us, we can overcome._

The dragon looked at her Rider for a long time, before blinking an affirmative. _All right. But after this night, we will be gone._

They agreed and returned to their camping site. As had become their habit, Eragon slept against her side, leathery wing draped over him like a tent.

That night, he dreamed of Jazuac.

That same day, many miles away, a young man with wild eyes shouted his defiance before a room filled of people who loathed him and feared him.

Preview:

_His waking dreams were disturbed by the sound of a low, distant _Boom_. He felt it more than he heard it, but he was immediately on his feet, knocking his head against the membrane of Saphira's wing. _Boom.

_Saphira? Did you hear that?_


	2. Shaking Earth

**Chapter 2**

Mostly boring buidup, but don't worry. We'll get to the juicy bits soon enough^^

Also, I'm looking for a beta!

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's probably not mine.

His waking dreams were disturbed by the sound of a low, distant _Boom_. He felt it more than he heard it, but he was immediately on his feet, knocking his head against the membrane of Saphira's wing. _Boom_.

_Saphira? Did you hear that?_

_I heard, little one._

They stood side by side, wondering. The sound had a rhythm to it, _boom_ing about every four seconds. It sounded like... Footsteps.

There was only one being Eragon knew was capable of making such thunderous footsteps. He remembered well- that first time in Ellesmera, when the enormous golden dragon stepped into view.

_Could it be...?_ he wondered, sharing his excitement with Saphira. His partner-of-souls was tense, swishing her tail and heaving her long neck from side to side, sniffing the air. The deep THUDs were becoming louder. The rider licked his lips nervously and looked in the direction of the sound, trying to spot the source. Then Saphira scared him half to death by letting out a teeth-clatteringly loud bugle. The sound was filled with deep longing alongside a playful challenge. Eragon, sensing her intentions, vaulted onto her back and clinged onto her with his legs while the dragon took to the sky.

There came no answer to Saphira's call, and there were no signs of another dragon. They flew over the forest and spotted something. Something big and moving.

_...That is no dragon. _Eragon said.

_No, it is not. _Saphira answered. Even though their tone was light, the disappointment was obvious. An Eldunarí or an egg was not the same as a living dragon. Meeting another one living in the wild had excited them, even if for just a while.

This creature looked like a man, but it was over fourty feet tall*. It had a thick mop of brown hair and seemed to be smiling, its mouth filled with too many teeth. Saphira flew above it in tight circles, so they may study the giant from every angle. Its arms hung almost to its knees and the head looked very small compared to the broad shoulders and big belly. Eragon couldn't be certain, since there were no real outward signs, but the creature appeared to be male.

Flying at a safe distance above it, the giant did not pay them any heed.

_Do you think he understands speech?_

_I would not know. Never have I seen a creature such as this. We should consult with the elders of my kind._

Saphira then showed the image of the walking giant to the Eldunarí, who discussed it in the language of impression and sense the dragons use when they converse with one another.

_Us, as well, have never seen anything like it. _spoke Umaroth, spokesperson of the disembodied dragons. _We suggest to study the creature with your minds before approaching._

Eragon knew the dragons were observing all that he did when he cautiously reached out with his mind. To his relief, the giant did not seem to notice when he entered its mind.

It was a simple mind, slow and thoughtless like that of an animal, though there was some fundamental difference. This mind seemed not to belong to a living creature, for it took no interest in life. Its memories were vague and undefined, as if it lived in a state of perpetual dreaming. It appeared to be looking for something. Eragon could not discern what this was, for there were no desires, only a hollow, longing feeling, and the urge to search that one thing it would recognize on sight.

Puzzled, Eragon urged Saphira to fly a bit lower.

"Hello!" he shouted at it, convinced it would not acknowledge him. It seemed so out of touch with its environment, he did not expect any reaction.

Therefore, he did not expect the giant to suddenly lunge at him. The change inside its mind was so sudden, he froze in shock. It had found what it was looking for and the hollow feeling in its chest, its belly, its head intensified. It knew that, if it would only stick the bright little thing in its mouth, it would feel better. It would feel full. It wanted to feel full!

Squawking, Saphira darted aside, away from the grabby hands the giant stuck in the air in attempt to grab them. Eragon clung onto the neck spike in front of him, thoroughly regretting riding bareback. Saphira sped forward, losing altitude but gaining speed to quickly get out of the giant's reach, but the creature was fast. It bounded after them in an awkward limb-flaying sprint, making a grab for Saphira's tail every time it came close enough for a try. This close to the ground, the dragon could not perform any of the acrobatic maneuvres she had learned from Gleadr. Also did she not have the time to beat her wings against the air to gain altitude, because fighting gravity would mean losing speed, giving the giant the chance to catch her.

Frantically, Eragon reached for his magic and uttered the first spell that came to mind.

"Jierda!" he shouted, pointing his hand towards his opponent's legs. Immediately, they buckled as the bones supporting them broke with a loud _snap_. Saphira immediately took the opportunity to fly above the creature's reach.

Panting, Eragon shook as he clung himself to his dragon's neck. The spell had taken its toll on him, though not as much as he might have feared. He watched in horror as the creature continued to reach for them, no, for _him_, even though its legs were a crumpled heap beneath it. Steam was rising from the lower part of its body.

As they fled back to their camping site, Eragon looked back at the giant and saw that it was already trying to get back on its feet, staring at them with unchanged expression.

_We should hurry. That thing frightens me. _the young Rider said to his dragon.

_Pah, he is only big. If I did not have you to worry about, he would have been at my mercy already._

_It was so strange- one moment he was just walking, not a care in the world, and the next he was trying to eat me. It happened so sudden I could not even work a spell. He almost had you that first second._

_He did not!_

_He did too! Let us get away from here fast before we run out of luck._

Saphira grumbled but refrained from answering as they landed at the knoll they were camping at. Swiftly Eragon saddled her and stuffed his things in the bags. He looked up at the sound of loud footsteps. The giant was bounding his way towards them in the same awkward sprint he had displayed before.

_How did he recover from his broken legs so fast?! Look, they aren't even crooked!_

_We'll worry about that later. First, we're getting out of here._

They flew up high, quickly rising above the dangerzone. The giant continued to follow them until they flew over forest, where it vanished from sight and did not reappear. They conversed long with the elder dragons, but none had anything new to add, only pointing out details they had thought unimportant in their observation and then falling back on speculation. In the end, they retreated from contact.

_At least now we know what happened to the villagers. _Saphira said.

_Yes, and also why no one ever returned._

They encountered no other giants that day. In the end there was nothing much to do except enjoying the scenery. The rolling hills and large forests were beautiful, but it could only entertain them for so long. Eragon practiced magic and mind-breaking with Saphira and Glaedr, but after some hours that also had to stop, for they did not want to tire themselves too much and leave them defenceless in these strange lands.

The creature still had them puzzled. They could have overpowered it with ease, Eragon using his magic and Saphira her teeth and claws, but they had refrained from fighting it for several reasons. First was that they knew next to nothing about it. Having only the information their senses and brief visit in its mind could tell them, its nature was foreign to them. Secondly, Eragon disliked simply killing any strange thing they came across. Yes, it had attacked them, but it had been an instinctual thing. Besides, it wasn't like they had still been in danger. But third and foremost was that neither of them wished any harm to befall the other. Eragon was still shocked by how the creature had almost gotten hold of Saphira's tail, thus being able to yank them out of the sky, while the dragon was always worried about her little Rider. In the end, just flying away didn't really sit right with them, but they much preferred it to a sudden fight with some unknown creature with unnamed powers.

There were no real mountains they could roost in, so they made camp on a high hill crested with trees, looking out over a great swath of landscape. Eragon set it with as many wards as he could think of, but still they had trouble resting, instead keeping a close eye on the horizon, looking out for any sort of movement.

They continued inland for over a fortnight, during which the amount of the giants steadily increased, until they couldn't fly even for an hour without seeing one. There were no signs of living people, only ruined towns full of skeletons and ashes. It was depressing to see the homes of his kind so desolate. He began to regret not killing that monster when it had attacked them. He wasn't one for mindless slaughter, but that one really had been asking for it. On the evening of the fourteenth day they flew over an enormous wall. Even from high up in the sky, it was an impressive sight. It was broad enough for at least two carts to drive alongside each other on top, and higher than any castle he had seen before.

_It must be to keep those creatures out_. He said in awe_. I wonder who built it. It looks like it must have taken decades to construct. Even those giants couldn__'__t possibly scale a wall this high._

Saphira let out a low growl. _They failed. Look._

With a gasp, Eragon noticed the saggy form of a lumbering giant, peering longingly into a broken house. And he grew angry. They had been flying over empty lands for so long, he had thought that, maybe here beyond this high wall, there were still people. It seemed this land kept on giving him these short-lived hopes, only to take them away all too soon. It was a good thing Saphira kept her cool, otherwise he would have attacked the creature. They flew higher, away from the disappointing sight.

_There might still be humans further in._ Saphira soothed.

_For mine own sanity, I will not count on it._

They flew in silence for the rest of the evening, after which they roosted in the tops of gigantic trees that reminded them of Du Weldenvarden.

_We should stay here for some days. These trees are too high for the giants to climb, and I have seen some deer I will enjoy hunting._ Saphira spoke. _And you need rest. I can fly all year and never tire, but that is why I am a dragon, and you are not. _

Eragon complied, unsaddling Saphira and making camp on a thick branch in the trees. Then he set himself down, not knowing what to do with himself.

_Call them._ Saphira said. _Roran and Orik and Nasuada and Blödgharm and Arya, just scry them and babble a bit. You__'__ll feel better. _

_But I left them forever! I__'__m not supposed to-_

_Fly to their rescue, or interfere with the goings on of the people of Alagaesia. But it doesn__'__t have to mean you can never talk your friends again._

_Saphira, I..._ He was silent. Why was it that he felt so afraid to talk to them? He missed talking to them. He longed for them. Then why would he not want to scry them? Saphira nudged him lovingly, then flapped off into the sky, leaving him with his thoughts and feelings.

I do not want to see them, because I am afraid of saying goodbye to them again, he thought. I am afraid I will turn back to be with them, that I will put my duty second behind my desires. He thought about that for a while. Would he? Had he so little constraint? He thought not. Then why be afraid?

As he let the fear seep away from his mind and body he suddenly became very excited. He made a puddle in a little bowl-shaped crevice in the bark and reached for his magic, saying the words for the two-way seeing spell and directed it first at Roran. He was shocked by the amount of energy needed to maintain the spell. It was at least five times more than he was used to. I will have to keep the conversation short, he thought.

A rustic wall, lit by an unknown source came into view. It looked very bright compared to where he was.

"Roran!" he called. "Cousin, hey! Are you there?" On the other side there was a rustling, the sound of falling cutlery and a few muffled shouts.

"...Eragon? Is that you?" said a slightly haggard-looking Katrina with a very surprised face. Eragon couldn't help but grin. A moment later Roran appeared, wiping dirt from his fingers. He laughed when he looked into the mirror.

"Ha! So the mighty kingslayer graces us with his presence! I told you he would call soon! Is Saphira there too?" They looked exactly the way he remembered, happy and tired.

They talked about Ismira and how beautiful she had become. Katrina's and Roran's faces shone clearly with pride at the subject. They spoke of rebuilding their home in Palencar valley. Initially Roran had planned to only make himself a sturdy farm, but Katrina had said it wouldn't be fitting for an earl to live in so little a home, so now they had a wooden keep, built in the style of the kings of old.

"Isn't it wonderful how everything smells new? Oh, and the embellishments are so beautiful. I can still hardly believe this house is ours to keep." Katrina said, swollen with pride. Her role as countess fitted her, Eragon thought.

"We broke down all those siege engines Galbatorix had built and made them into planks for our home." Roran told him. "A finer wood you will never find. Imagine our surprise when the elves offered to help us."

Eragon remembered that Galbatorix had those engines made from the thickest and oldest of trees of Du Weldenvarden. He remembered the fury of queen Islanzadí when she had spoken of it. No wonder they had wanted to help. They would not want the wood of their fallen companions squandered on an inferior structure.

In turn, Eragon spoke of his journey; he spoke of going east until there was no more land, and then going even further until there was no more sea. He talked about the atolls and beautiful, rich islands he had seen. He talked until it became dark, though it was still light on the other side of the mirror.

"How many lamps are you burning?" he finally asked, confused. "The light doesn't seem to dim at all."

Roran blinked and stared at him. "Eragon, it's only an hour past lunchtime. It won't be dark for another six or seven."

Eragon looked at the canopy of needles, through which the moonlit sky was visible. He shook his head. "No, it is long past sundown."

Roran and Katrina shared a look. "These are strange lands you visit." Katrina said with a little smile.

Eragon sighed, a sad look passing over his face. "That they are. There's no people here either. There were once, but all the towns are empty, and have been for years and years." He told them about his encounter with the giant, and the wall that had not protected the humans even though it was incredibly high and strong. He did not speak of the skeletons, however. Or of the fact that the giant had wanted to eat him. They did not need to hear that.

"...so we are still looking for people, though it seems less and less likely that we will ever find any."

Roran's expression had become increasingly serious during his little speech. "I hope you find them, Eragon. To be attacked in your own home... It is a terrible fate."

Then they moved on to lighter subjects. It turned out that Carvahall was now a town, connecting Palencar valley with the sea by a road called "Roran's pass", which went straight through the Spine by the same route the villagers had taken while fleeing the Empire. It would take decades for people there to feel at home again, and it would never be the same as before, but Roran told him he was proud of his new home and the almost twelve hundred people now under his care. Eragon felt a sharp sting of jealousy at his cousin's obvious comfort, but he hoped it did not show. He could never have lived in Palencar Valley again anyway, being a Rider.

Saphira returned with the thunderous beat of her wings. She greeted Roran and Katrina through Eragon and asked about their welfare, to which they politely responded. Eragon had begun feeling drowsy with exhaustion and he knew he would have to end the spell soon. They said their goodbyes warmly, after which Eragon extinguished the mirror and slumped back against the tree. He was more tired than he had thought.

_It was good to talk to him again._ he said with a smile. The air was alive with all kinds of sounds, some familiar and some strange.

In the days that followed, Eragon made himself a comfortable birdsnest-like hut that was a very crude imitation of his treehouse in Ellesmera. He sang a hollow into the trunk, in which he placed the Eldunarí. He closed it with spells of illusion and several magic traps. Every day he called one of his friends, who were all happy and surprized to see him. Nasuada turned out difficult to contact, for she was a busy woman, travelling through the country to see to its restoration. She seemed more tired than ever, but never did she lose her majestic look. Their conversation went much as expected, exchanging stories and pleasantries, but at the end of their talk she asked about Murtagh, and if he had seen him. Surprised, he told her that he hadn't, and that he did not expect to either. When he asked why she wanted to know she only dodged the question. Eragon found this both disturbing and incredibly funny.

He had to remember, he was not to interfere.

Eragon saved Arya for last, knowing that she would have the greatest impact on him. And she did. As soon as she stepped into view he no longer had any words. It took him a while to remember his manners and greet her in the elven way, to which she responded politely. Different from his other friends, she did not seem especially happy to see him. She told him she was, but he could see worry in her eyes. She was probably worried about the same things that had worried him at the start. He told her he had yet to find a place to roost as leader of the order, and that he got at least a bit side-tracked, but that he would figure it out in the end. Arya did not seem impressed and remained formal for the duration of their talk. Before long, she told him she had other things to do as queen of the elves.

His unsatisfactory talk with Arya downed him for days. He wanted to leave. He needed to _do_ something, or he would go mad. He practiced swordplay and magic and mindbreaking, but it did not quiet his restlessness. Saphira took him flying, but after all those weeks in the sky it just failed to be exiting.

_Bah!_ She snorted. _You have been moping like a scorned hatchling long enough. I will show you exiting, whether you are ready or not!_

After which she tumbled through the most convoluted of manoeuvres. She took enormous risks, missing the ground or a tree by only a few feet. She dove over sharp rocks and taunted the giants. Many a time Eragon feared the air-acrobatics would fail, and they would crash and die.

_Saphira! That was dangerous!_ He called, exasperated. She chuckled.

_Still bored?_ Saphira asked innocently. He gaped at her, then grinned and shook his head.

_No_. He said.

_Good. Because that is not nearly all I can do._

Over the course of two weeks, their stunts grew more and more dangerous. Eragon would jump off Saphira, who would catch him at lower and lower altitudes. She never failed. In the end it was Glaedr who had to put a stop to their antics. At that moment, Eragon had been dangling from Saphira's tail, only just above the reaching arms of the giants.

_Saphira! Eragon! Are you not ashamed, to put your lives at risk so recklessly, while so much depends on you? We have tolerated your stunts for the sake of your mental health, but no more! Have you forgotten your duty? What will you do if one of you dies here? What would _WE _do if both of you die here? This hollow is no place for beings such as us, barely protected against any wizard with moderate skill. Will you do your duty, or must we find _some other _dragon rider to hold our hearts?_

Solemnly, the dragon and her rider apologised and admitted that what they had been doing was silly and put at risk all they had fought for. With a sigh, Eragon decided that he would rather leave if there was no fun to be had. He began to have growing admiration for the elves. How _did _they do it? They lived in their forest for years and years without growing bored at all.

He would need to find a hobby.

The idea seemed so absurd, he started chuckling uncontrollably. Maybe travelling wasn't so bad after all.

He was on his way back to his tree-hut when he sensed some commotion down on the ground. Horses. Horses and people! He looked in awe as a small column of mounted soldiers moved past. They had a few carts with them. At a short bark of a command they dismounted and started unloading the carts. Up above them, Eragon looked on, frozen in shock, how the soldiers set up some sort of formation behind the trees. It was obviously a trap, but for who or what, he did not know.

Not wanting to disturb their business, he hid himself with a clever spell that would make people dismiss his shape. Once, a blond officer seemed to look at him, but his piercing eyes moved on without acknowledging him. Just to be sure, he moved a few trees to the right.

Some of the humans had these interesting devices that allowed them to climb the trees with ease. He knew it wasn't magic, because he didn't feel the disturbance in the air it would have created. He started imagining himself, swinging from these little ropes through trees and towers, landing on Saphira's back... He shook himself and watched as the men entered a tense silence. He contemplated reaching out with his mind, but he didn't know if there were any magicians among them, and again, he did not want to disturb.

Long minutes went by, until Eragon finally heard both the rattling of horseshoes and the thunderous boom of a titan's footsteps.

_Are they... luring that titan in their trap?_ He thought enthusiastically, his heart beating like a maniac.

*I am using feet here, because that is what is used in the books. I know, I hate it too. 40 ft = 12,192 m

To Ddragon21: I am probably not giving Eragon a dragon form, because I think he is plenty strong without it. Plus, this _is_ Shingeki no Kyojin after all...

To thestaradder: Thank you! Hope you stick around^^


	3. Carnage Carnival

Chapter 3

Carnage Carnival

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Sorry this one took a little longer. I had some problems with the some parts, so I had to rewrite all of it. Still not quite happy with it, but I really wanted it out there. Also, this is where the SnK plot finally gets affected by Eragon and Saphira's prescence! Woo!

I think people flying backwards at great speed are the stupidest thing I have ever seen. Just so you know.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Inheritance cycle or Shingeki no Kyojin.

000000 Eragon

A small group of riders bounded past the trap, the giant directly behind them. With a shock, Eragon realised it almost had its hand around one of the soldiers when the trap was put in motion. At the command of the blond officer, dozens of mortars shot barbed harpoons attatched to metal wires into the flesh of the giant. Eragon clapped his hands over his ears to protect himself from the deafening sound.

_That was close! _He excitedly said to Saphira, who was already back at the treehouse. She watched the scene through his eyes.

_Yes, but the giant is equally impressive. She managed to get up before the hooks hit her. Look, she even took on a defensive stance._

Eragon looked on while the humans secured the giants' joints with thick metal pins. They spoke to each other in a language he did not understand. He frowned. Not speaking their language was something he had not thought about. It could be a real problem if he wanted to communicate with them. As far as he could tell, the language was the only thing distinguishing them from the humans living in Alagaësia. The people in the Eastlands had looked different, with their angular faces and hair that in most had been lighter than their skintone. The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Shouldn't these people look even stranger? It seemed logical to him that people that lived closer together should look more the same, but he went farther than any have travelled before and found a race of humans seemingly identical to the ones living back home.

He did not get the chance to think about it long, seeing how the soldiers were moving again. Two of them flew on their wires toward the creature's neck and attempted to sever the hands guarding it. Their swords made an uncomfortable CLANGing noise as they broke on the hardened skin. If the hardening process was magic, Eragon could not detect it. The soldiers were obviously dismayed by the new obstacle, but immediately started working on a solution. The young Rider started towards them; there were no immediate dangers he might distract them of, and he could help with this. He was certain that with his magic, he could get those hands out of the way for them.

_Eragon._ Glaedr said. _What anthill do you intend to stick your head in now? It is not your place to intervene here. These people have the situation well under control. Retreat, and contact them some other time, under peaceful conditions. Just let them do their business._

_But-_

_No, Eragon. To introduce yourself here and offer them your service could be interpreted as an indication of larger commitment. Are you prepared to throw yourself in another war?_

_...no, master._

_Then observe, or look away._

Grumbling, Eragon settled on the branch once more. One of the men stood upon the creature's head, talking to it in a taunting voice. He could hear every word of his antagonizing monologue, but its meaning was lost to him. Suddenly, the creature opened her mouth and let out a thunderous roar. Eragon shouted with pain as the sound assaulted his enhanced hearing. And the scream had not only been a sound... it had also been mental. It battered against his mind, barely giving him the time to raise his defences.

_...What?! _

Desoriented, he clung to his branch like a squirrel. Below him people were shouting for a bit, but quickly calmed down.

_No, get away! _he wanted to tell them. _Something bad is going to happen!_

And indeed, as he spread out his mind throughout the woods, he found that dozens of the creatures were headed their way. He got to his feet and was about to go down to warn them somehow, but again, Glaedr caught him.

_Eragon, what I told you has not changed._

_But master, they don't know what is coming! We have to warn them!_

_This is not the time for reckless behaviour! These people knew what they were up against, but they fought anyway! It is _not _your duty to save them, or anyone else! Your duty is to the dragons. There are _thousands_ of humans, and still only three of us. You have to remember your place, Eragon. And your place is with us, as you yourself have said before._

_But they are right there! I have to do _something_. I cannot ignore people suffering in front of me!_

_Eragon, you must think of the implications of your actions. If you go there now, they will expect things from you. They will put their hope on you, and they will want you to do things you have sworn not to. Are your promises so easily forgotten? What worth is in your words if you abandon _us_, the dragons, now of all times?_

_Stop saying my name!I know what I promised, and I know my limits, but I can't leave these people to suffer. Would you have me become a cold-hearted monster, who only thinks of some imagined greater good? Would you have me become your pet Galbatorix?!_

The ancient dragon growled, and Eragon recoiled from the contact. Saphira joined her mind with theirs and said:

_We will never forget our duties, master. But I have been craving a good fight ever since we landed on these haunted shores, and I cannot think of a better opportunity than this. I would like the practice, otherwise I will be fat and slow by the time the hatchlings arrive. Have faith in us. My Rider is not so weak that he will die from some bloated two-legs. Compared to killing Shruikan and Galbatorix, this is sport. _

_You can still die, and we cannot take that risk. Besides, it looks like the humans no longer need warning. _

Their conversation had only lasted for half a minute, but already he could hear the thunderous footsteps approaching, and he knew the soldiers had heard it too, for they were shouting things and preparing for a fight. The first giants were emerging from the trees, only to be immediately eliminated by the soldiers. One of them was especially agile, but Eragon did not take the time to admire his technique. He clenched his teeth and drew his sword.

_Whatever objections you may have, I need to help these people, or I will no longer be me. You may scold me later, master._

Eragon then closed his mind to any but Saphira and jumped from his branch, driving his sword into the skull of the giant that had been passing under him. He shouted as he went, the impact jarring his bones. His blood sang. This was what he was meant to do, fighting for humanity. Battling great enemies. Not sitting on his arse playing with swords and doing... doing hobbies. He needed this. He _wanted _this. He drew Brisingr out of the screeching creature's skull and laughed. The giant, however, simply reached for him, sticking its grabby fingers on top of his head. Eragon chopped them off, but the arms kept coming, spurting steaming blood and bits all over him. Eragon slided down and reached for his magic, shouting "_Brisingr!_" as he sliced the creature's face in two, cleaving through flesh and bone until his sword lodged on a collarbone. They fell to the ground together. Eragon landed beside it, crouching to protect his bones against the impact. Through their link, he could feel Saphira jumping into the air with a mighty roar, and the sound of it reached him a few seconds later.

He looked at the creature's corpse. Its skull and neck were cleaved neatly in two ribbons, the insides steaming fiercely. The Rider tugged out the still-flaming sword and for a moment just stood there, holding it in his hands, panting. The giant had been the first living thing he had killed since the little fish at the islands, and the first enemy since the battle for Uru'baen. It felt good, exhilarating.

He had not felt so alive since the war ended.

000000 Irvin

Commander Irvin's head snapped up at the sound of a distant roar. It was neither man nor titan. It had come from an animal, a _big_ animal. There was something fishy going on, and he didn't like it. As he couldn't spot any irregularities he again focused on the spectacle before him. His eyes narrowed as he examined one very sloppy kill. There were too many things going on that he could not place. As a commander, he needed to be able to make decisions for his people, and he did not know what was the best course of action until he knew what was going on. There was still something going on down there. A titan stumbled and fell. He frowned, attempting to make sense of the chaos below him. Its tendons were cut. Anger welled up inside him. Someone was still fighting, even _after_ he had signed the retreat. Someone, but he couldn't see him. He looked and looked, and every time he could _almost _see something, but not quite. It was driving him crazy.

Rivaille landed next to him.

"What a mess..." his soldier said. "And right after my taunting words too... Havoc all around and no benefit to us whatsoever. I wonder what they'll do to Eren and us when we nonchalantly come back after a failure like this."

"We'll think about it after we'll have returned. At the moment we must concentrate on returning safely without suffering any more damage." Irvin aswered. "At the moment..."

He looked at the steaming corpse of the female titan, thinking about the smoke signals when he realized something.

"I'll go join with my squad." he heard Rivaille say. "Hope they didn't get very far from here yet..."

"Wait, Rivaille. I want you to look down there and tell me what you see."

His right hand looked at the cluster of titans.

"Right there" Irvin added, pointing at the titan that had its head split in half and its fingers chopped. "Who killed that one?"

"Must be one of the new recruits." Rivaille said with disgust. "But-" Irvin looked at Rivaille's face as realization obviously kicked in. This team had consisted only of trusted veterans. None of those men would have executed a kill that badly. He saw his subordinate's piercing eyes examine the scene before them, and he knew he too saw the signs of someone fighting, even though there seemed to be no one there.

"...I'll go take a look."

000000 Eren

"Looks like it's over." Gunther said with a smile, looking at the blue columns of smoke filling the air. Moses shouted for them to retreat. Eren could hardly believe it. Had they won? This time, had they actually won? He still wondered about the shout and the roar. The first had obviously come from the female titan, but the second he wasn't so sure of. It had not sounded like the voice of a titan, more like an animal, and it had come eerily close after the first. Like an answer.

"Do you think it called for a friend?" Eren said hesitantly. "Maybe there's another here, waiting in the forest." The others looked at him nervously. "What else could it have been? It certainly wasn't a human."

After a short silence, Auruo punched him on the arm. "You heard him. We're retreating, not fussing over noises in the woods. Let's go see for ourselves what kind of face the shithead that was riding inside that titan is making."

They swung towards the horses at great speed. Petra reassured him, which led to a brotherly taunting session between the five of them.* Gunther spotted a green signal a small distance east.

"Oh.." he said, readying his own flare gun. "It must be a signal from corporal Rivaille. We're gonna join up with him! Save your bickering for when we're back!"

They changed course, heading for the source of the smoke signal.

000000 Irvin

As he got onto his horse, he thought he could see blue light emanating from above the treetops, but it was gone before he could look better. He cursed. Any other time he would have sent men to investigate, but things were hectic and confusing now and he did not want to risk spending any more time in this damned forest. There was also the intruder he had to think about, in all probability disguised as one of his own.

"Hanji." he said to the curiousity-driven woman. "That roar, what do you think?"

She was quiet for a bit, before saying: "I do not think it was a titan, sir!"

"My thoughts as well."

They rode for a bit, before Hanji asked: "Why did you send Rivaille down there? We hardly have time for that..."

"There was something I had to know. I did it because of I remembered one of your hypotheses." She looked at him questioningly, so he continued. "You surmised that when the colossal titan disappeared the reason why no one'd seen the person inside it was because that 'insider' equipped himself with the 3d maneuver gear beforehand and, using it, quickly secaped under the vapor cover."

"But I also concluded it is hardly possible based on the similar situation with Eren when he emerged out of a titan." she protested. "His equipment was hopessly dameged and even his uniform was gone, but the most important part is that Eren was so exhausted he couldn't even stand without help."

"The female titan had the ability to draw titans to her with a scream. We didn't know she could do that, so our plan failed. We need to adapt our way of thinking and concepts quickly if we want to outsmart the enemy. If that 'titan power' can be trained, then basing our perception and conclusions on the abilities of Eren, who is only a beginner in using that power, is wrong. It's as you hypothesized: if the enemy used vapour as a cover and escaped, with a gear the same as ours put on in advance, they could very well mingle with the scouts."

Hanji turned away, looking a bit sick. He could see her mind was racing, taking in the new possibilities- and the new dangers. But Irvin wasn't done talking yet.

"And if the enemy has a way to preserve their stamina, it's possible they can transform into a titan again."

000000 Armin

He stared. He could not help it. His mouth hung wide open as he looked at the beautiful monster flying just over the treetops, spitting out thick jets of blue flame towards the ground.

"What is it?" he heard Jean say.

He shook his head, and a shiver went down his spine.

"No..." Armin said, his expression grim. "The question we need answered most right now is- is it our enemy?"

000000 Eren

"Gunther, sir?!" Eren shouted as he saw one of his guardians go down. It had all happened so quick. He descended towards him. As he closed in on the man, he noticed there was something really wrong. "Hey! What is-"

Then he saw. Gunther's neck was cleaved through almost completely, his head bobbing and twisting in odd, unnatural ways. Eren's stomach churned, and his body froze. Auruo grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, shouting for him to keep moving. His companions were shouting things, but he could only think of Gunther, the way he had dangled on his wires.

"Gunter, sir!" he shouted again, still not really believing what had just happened. A hooded figure appeared behind them- chasing them. Everyone else were still shouting things. To each other, to their assailant, was it the one inside the female titan?

"...the female type? How can it be?" he muttered to himself. "Why? Didn't they catch her?! No.. it must be that ally. The one that roared. Yes... That's what it is. We won, and they can't take that..."

At that moment, an explosion threatened to throw him off-balance, but he managed to catch himself in time. As he looked back, he saw the female titan, steaming fiercely as she bounded towards them.

"It's really her! She's coming!" Moses shouted. "The female type's closing in!"

And she was fast. Very much so. Looking at her terrifying form, he made up his mind. "Shit!" he shouted. "I've had enough! This time I'm going to do it! I will fight her!"

"No you won't!" shouted Erd. "The three of us will deal with her! You go on ahead to our commanders' place as fast as you can, Eren!"

"I can fight too!" It wasn't fair. He had the power. He could probably take her. Why wouldn't they let him fight?!

"It's best if you don't! Using your power is too risky!"

"What's that, you little bastard?" pitched in Auruo. "You dare doubt our ability?!"

But it was Petra who did him in. "Is that true, Eren? Do you really... not believe in us?" she said, looking at him, accusing, begging, oh, she looked at him with those big pretty eyes and Eren felt his reasons ebb away. He wanted to believe. He needed to believe. So he turned around and screamed:

"I believe in my squad's victory! Good luck!" And he swung away, away- into the safety he did not desire, leaving his friends to fight for him. He could not help but look back, and what he saw amazed him. The three of them were a stunning team, executing the most difficult of moves with elegancy that could only be the result of great experience. Together, they drove the female titan back against a tree, blinded and stumbling. 'They're so strong', he thought. 'The fight looks one-sided. And they're fighting completely in sync even without saying anything to each other. It must be because-'

His thoughts were interrupted by a great cacophony of noise. He whipped his head around and gasped as he saw the great blue shape descending on him. He tried changing course, but it was already so close and he was going so fast- The edge of the great blue wing came closer and closer and then- blackness.

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*I'm not really interested in copying the non-essential original dialogue, but if you want me to write it down anyway I will, just leave it in your review^^


	4. Common Misconceptions

Attack on Eldunarí

Chapter 4

Common Misconceptions

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Disclaimer: I do not own the Inheritance Cycle or Shingeki no Kyojin.

To thestaradder, Ally, Jarjaxle, Runa22694 and Youmu Konpaku: Thank you for your wonderful reviews! They had me giggling all afternoon x)

How is twice as long? Hehehehe. I'll try making the chapters longer in the future, but that last one had such a beautifully evil moment to stop...

By the way, what romanization do you guys prefer? Levi and Erwin or Rivaille and Irvin? Levi and Erwin make more sense, _and_ they're the official ones, but Rivaille sounds so delicious and French! Plus, Irvin is a Scottish name... can you imagine Irvin with a Scottish accent? Letting it slip when he's... _distressed_ xD

The second part of this chapter was a bitch to write. I _really_ hopeI didn't mess up their characters. Oof.

000000 Eren

Eren dreamed of the beautiful summer sky lying on top of a green field. He was resting on the ground, rolling a blade of grass between his fingers. Mikasa was also there, hard at work as always. He didn't really see her, but he knew she was there.

"Hey Eren." said Armin. "Shouldn't you get up soon? We're going."

Eren tried, but something held him down. It took him a while to realise it was actually the sky itself pressing down on him, pressing the air from his lungs, crushing him. Panicking, he squirmed to get free, but the sky was everywhere- he could not escape. His ribs shrank and he saw his torso flatten. All the while his head was pounding, and the pain only seemed to increase. He tried to call for help, but the blue membrane hit him before he could even open his mouth-

Gasping, he opened his eyes. The light hurt his eyes and as he looked at the clear blue sky he panicked for a moment, thinking he was still trapped in that dream.

"Eren!"

000000 Eragon, a few hours earlier

He had slaughtered four of the giants when he noticed all the soldiers had left. Panting, he stepped back from the heaving mass of hot bodies. As it turned out, these creatures were hard to kill. Like the painless soldiers Galbatorix had created, they hardly felt anything when he chopped off their limbs or stabbed them in the belly. Stabbing them in the heart also did not seem to work. The only thing that kept them down was to chop off their heads by the neck. It was hard work, and the neck-area was difficult to reach. He had started to envy the soldiers for their fancy equipment, and his desire to try one out increased dramatically.

He froze as the blade of a sword was gently laid beside his throat.

The cocky voice of one of the soldiers told him something he could not understand. He swallowed and raised his hands as a sign of surrender.

"I'm, sorry, I don't speak your language." he tried, but the man standing behind him only increased the pressure of his blade, causing it to scrape against Eragon's wards. This seemed to aggravate him even more, as he stated something that was obviously a question. With a shock, Eragon realised he was probably still wearing the glamour spell that hid him from people's sight. He ended the stream of magic with a short word, causing the man to start talking again. Slowly, he turned around to look at his assailant. The first thing he noticed about the man were his piercing blue eyes that carried the look of one who has seen too much death. The second thing he noticed was that the man was rather short, barely reaching Eragon's chin. The man raised an eyebrow and said another thing. Eragon just looked at him confusedly. He had never met someone who he could not speak to. Some of the dwarves had not spoken his language, but there had always been someone around to translate for him. It was incredibly frustrating to just stand there; it made him feel like an idiot.

"I don't speak your language." he repeated, lowering his arms. "I'm-" he was interrupted by the sound of a distant explosion. He whipped his head around to look, but the trees obstructed his sight.

_Saphira?_

_I see it. That one giant just appeared here. It is running. _

_How can that be? I saw it get devoured by the other giants right here!_

_I'll go take a closer look. _

_Don't go crashing into any trees._

Saphira snorted and dove forwards into the thicket. Eragon then again concentrated on the man, who also looked anxious to get away from there, though he kept his gaze on the Rider. He was about to propose leaving for the trees when Saphira spoke to him again.

_I think I hit a squirrel. _

_What?_

_One of those soldiers crashed into my wing. _She sounded dismayed.

_Are you all right?_

_I'm fine. Not so sure about that two-leg. He fell, but his friends came for him. They are not happy. And now that giant is coming too._

"Barzûl." cursed Eragon, strengthening his grip on Brisingr. He turned to the soldier and said: "I am really sorry and I know you are probably confused, but I need to go now." He pointed with his sword towards the explosion and repeated, slowly, as if that would make him understand: "I need to go now. My dragon might need me."

000000 Rivaille

It was hard to look at the man. Every time he tried to focus on the guy's outline, his eyes shifted away and it was a real pain in the ass to find it again. So instead he looked at the grime and steaming titan blood covering him. That worked. He observed the man's fighting technique as he approached. It was obvious that he wasn't used to fighting titans, but he had some skills all right. Plus, he was strong, chopping through flesh and bone as if they were made of soft cheese. At some point he stepped back, and Rivaille took his chance. He softly stood behind the man and held his sword where he thought the guy's neck was.

"That's a neat trick you are using. Maybe you could teach me some time. Now tell me who you are and what you know about the female type titan."

The man answered in a completely different language. Frustrated, Rivaille pressed his sword against the man's neck a little harder. He meant to make a tiny slice to scare him a little, but instead he found a solid resistance. His blade scraped against it like metal against metal.

"What the hell, are you wearing armour or something? Anyway, could you cut the crap? Your weird trickery is giving me a headache."

The man mumbled something and Rivaille found that he could suddenly look at the man normally. "Dammit, so you really _could _understand what I'm saying." He also noticed the man was certainly not wearing armour. His blade lay directly on the man's bare neck. He studied him as he turned around. Damn, he cursed to himself. It was just another kid. A weird-looking kid though, he'd give him that. His eyes were slanted like a cat's, but that wasn't what disturbed him. There was something _wrong _about him. He could not quite place it, but there was something about that youthful face that made his skin crawl. At second thought, the boy did not look very dangerous. He had that look in his eyes that he recognised from young recruits that had yet to lose their friends and come to terms with the life they lead. Rivaille raised an eyebrow and said:

"So, who are you?"

The boy looked at him with a slightly bewildered expression. He seemed to look for words, and then again said something in that other language. Rivaille frowned. This was going to be a real pain in the ass. The lad just started talking again when a deep distant rumble reached them. The boy stretched his neck in an attempt to spot the source, but Rivaille kept his eyes trained upon him. He knew he would not be able to see anything, so he rather kept his gaze on the lad. He was worried. There were no more cannons in these woods, so there could only be one thing that could make such a sound. Dammit, he didn't have time to talk to weird mysterious teenagers!

The lad cursed and visibly steeled himself, talking rapidly, pointing towards the explosion. He wanted to go there? Fine. Because that's where Rivaille wanted to be too. He nodded slightly, and the boy smiled, turned around and stormed off.

Rivaille went through the treetops while the boy ran on the ground. He was fast, but it still annoyed the corporal how much he had to slow down in order to keep hovering over him. If that female titan was on the loose again, he needed to be there, _now_. On the other hand, he could not let this one get away either.

If only his squad were here.

000000 Petra

They had only turned around for a few seconds and the brat was in trouble again. She heard the crash of breaking wood and a muffled shout, and when Petra turned around she could hardly believe her eyes.

A real life dragon had emerged from the trees and slammed into their precious ward.

"No!" she shouted, immediately abandoning her target to save Eren. He was falling head-first toward the forest floor. She dove underneath the monster and snatched the young man out of the air, narrowly avoiding a collision with the creature's tail. They made a clumsy landing just a second later, rolling over the bed of needles until they came to a jumbled stop.

"Petra!" Erd screamed, rushing towards them, swords raised.

Petra did not answer, but crawled toward Eren's limp form. Blood was oozing from a head wound, obscured by his hair and his right wrist was bent in an odd way, but other than that he looked all right. She pulled him onto her lap and looked for a heartbeat. Relief seeped through her body when she felt the faint movement in his neck that told her he was okay.

"He's fine!" she called hoarsely, "I got him!"

Trembling slightly, she got to her feet and pulled Eren over her shoulders. Now she needed to leave. Leave! Quickly, now- there was more than one monster here, and someone had to protect Eren. They could not defeat the female type titan with only two, let alone the titan _and _that dragon thing. With a shock, she realised the female titan was already moving again.

_She can see? How?!_

She then saw her trick: prioritising the healing of one eye to hasten its recovery. Bile rose in her throat as she realised that if they had attacked as planned, one of them probably would have died. Above them, the dragon latched onto one of the trees' massive branches, digging deep furrows with its claws. It looked at her, and she looked up at it. She trembled at the sight. The creature was huge, and more beautiful than she could have imagined. It was like staring in the face of an ancient god. It blinked, and turned toward the female titan, who was now hesitating in her approach, her one working eye fixed on the reptilian monster.

The dragon opened its maw and let out a jet of bright blue fire, engulfing the titan's head with flames. The female titan _screamed_, like it had screamed before, a piercing, pained screech that assailed your ears and rattled your bones. Then she fell silent and the dragon ceased its fire. The titan's yellow hair had burned to brittle black branches. The skin and flesh of her face had melted away to reveal the blackened bone beneath. Its knees buckled and the female titan slumped against a tree.

As her comrades cheered, Petra sought out a good solid branch to land on, away from the dangerous forest floor. She laid the unconscious Eren down carefully. From here, she also had a good view on the dragon. It wasn't paying any attention to them, fixated as it was on the steaming titan body. Where had it suddenly come from? Dragons weren't supposed to be real. They only existed in childrens' stories and fairy tales. And it had attacked the female titan. Was it their ally then? But had also crashed into Eren... She didn't know what to think. Maybe they were only the antics of an animal, and she was reading too much into it. In that case, they were all in serious danger. She didn't suppose titans made a good meal, but humans were fair meat. Should she sign the retreat? But they finally had the female titan cornered... Now was their chance! The dragon did not seem to be doing anything anymore. What was the big reptile looking for? Was it waiting for the titan to rise again? Petra dared not do anything until it left. Just when she thought it was really only going to sit there when its head snapped up and it flew off to lord knows where.

The other members of her squad joined her on the branch and looked in the direction the dragon had flown off to.

"How's Eren?" asked Erd, glancing down at the human weapon.

"He'll live." she answered. She then gave a nod in the direction of the female type. "I've got him. You focus on finishing the mission."

Her companions nodded and swung towards the steaming titan. Petra tried to push back her relief- they weren't out of the woods yet.

000000 Eragon

He was running along the forest floor at what he thought was a good human pace. Above him, the dark-haired man was swinging from tree to tree with that marvelous gadget of theirs.

Through his mental link, he could see the womanly giant staring at Saphira. For a man-eating monster, she was even kind of pretty. With her strawberry blond hair and shocking blue eye, she certainly stood out from the majority, most of which were exceptionally unattractive.

His line of thought was interrupted by Saphira setting fire to the creature's face.

_Wait, Saphira! _

But it was already too late. The monster again let out that horrible cry that was both sound and a mental attack. Eragon gasped and clapped his hands over his ears, nearly tripping over his own feet as he attempted to continue running in that awkward pose. The noise seemed to drag on for minutes, though it only could have been a few seconds. The silence that followed was equally disturbing, making the forest appear empty and threatening. A shiver ran up Eragon's back as he picked up his pace.

_Was that really necessary? _He asked his dragon.

_There's something weird about this one _Saphira said.

_You could at least have tried looking into its mind before melting its face off. _

Saphira licked her teeth, grumbling. _She was a danger, so I dealt with her. And I didn't kill her. She's still alive._

Bewildered, Eragon said: _How can that be? Her head was on fire!_

_We didn't know much about them in the first place. Maybe chopping off their heads doesn't really kill them after all._

_But the ones I decapitated did die._

_Maybe the soldiers know._

He needed to go to where his dragon was. The last time that giant had screamed, entire legions of the monsters had come running. And this time, he was walking on the ground. If they were to catch up with him, he could very well be overrun. Plus, Saphira couldn't fight as well between the trees. It made for some clumsy flying, and there were many sharp branches constantly threatening to rip at Saphira's wings.

Above him, the flying man cursed. Eragon looked over his shoulder and spotted many of the giants running in their direction. Some of them were actually catching up. He cursed and tried to run even faster, even though he would not be able to keep it up for long.

_Get out of there, Eragon! Don't go towards me, _they _are also coming this way! Get out of their path!_

_But what about-_

_Just move!_

Panting, Eragon looked up at the dark-haired soldier again, and felt a slight jolt as he saw him looking his way as well. Running off would certainly cross the man, and he really didn't want to make an enemy of the first person he met here. Then again, he didn't have much choice. To keep running in a straight line would mean dealing with the creatures again, and not on his own terms. So he sent the man an apologetic look and bolted in the other direction, away from the stampeding monsters.

000000 Petra

Erd and Auruo approached the target carefully. Even a normal decapitated titan could kill, and this one was intelligent. There was no knowing what other tricks she had up her sleeve. On the other hand, they had to hurry- already, flesh started to coat the titan's face and if what happened last time they had her cornered was any indication, they only had seconds before the titan would be able to fight them again.

The titan had laid her hands on her nape and leaned it against the tree, creating a wall of flesh and wood that was almost impossible to breach- if you didn't know how. Just like last time, they slashed at the creature's arms until they dropped, after which she pressed herself onto the tree, leaving only a tiny space in between. Not enough to get to her. Erd slashed at the monster's neck from one side while Auruo did the same for the other.

As Petra looked on, she noticed a slight vibration under her feet. Her eyes widening, she wheeled her head around to see many titans running towards them at alarming speed.

"Incoming! Thirty seconds!" she screeched towards the two men, who had only just successfully managed to expose the female titan's nape. She heard Erd curse. No, she thought. Not now. They almost had her. _Almost_. They only needed a few more seconds to get her and get away.

"It's not working!" Auruo shouted. "Her skin is all hard, we can't get through!"

_No..._

She almost didn't notice the Corporal landing beside her. "Corporal Rivaille!" she said, feeling both shocked and relieved to see her commanding officer. The short man looked at the unconscious Eren, glanced at the steaming titan Erd and Auruo were hacking at and said:

"Leave her. There's no time. We must get Eren out of this forest. Get to the horses!"

After only a second of hesitation, the two soldiers abandoned their prey, cursing as they went. Of course, Petra was disappointed at leaving their enemy behind, but for a moment she could only feel relief. At least today, no more of her friends were going to die fighting that monster.

"Gunther, he..." she started.

"I saw."

Petra let out a shivering breath before pulling herself together. She dragged Eren onto her back. Damn, for a kid, he was pretty heavy. She reminded herself to have the young man put on half rations to pay him back for this. He had certainly chosen a rotten moment to be out cold.

By the time they were on their way, other titans had arrived to feast on the female type. Carrying Eren was a good excuse to avoid looking back, which would certainly have upset her. That woman had killed Gunther and many more. It was a job unfinished, left just before completion. It was unfair and it wasn't right.

"What happened?" Corporal Rivaille asked as he flew beside her, interrupting her thoughts.

"She was wearing one of our uniforms, I couldn't see her face. She killed Gunther with swords, then shifted into a titan. She chased us and we sent Eren away so we could fight her, but an, ah... a dragon knocked him out cold, sir." she felt embarrassed telling this sort of story to the man she looked up so much. Corporal Rivaille shifted, a rare surprised look on his face.

"A... dragon?" he said.

"Yes, sir. It set the titan's face on fire. That's why she screamed."

He was silent for a while before saying: "I see. Let's hurry then."

000000 Eragon

He felt guilty about running away like that, but he tried not to dwell on it too much. He had helped, right? Thanks to him... well, when he thought about it, nothing really changed. He had killed some giants, but none of them had really been attacking humans at the time. And then... then there was the soldier, but he had managed just fine on his own.

_I guess you were the only real hero today, Saphira._

_You fought well, little one._

_Yes, but in none of the right places. Next time, let's stick together._

_That, I will not argue with. _

They met up on a glade just a mile further away. Eragon greeted her by hugging her snout, after which he quickly got in the saddle.

_Now what did you say about that one giant being strange?_

Saphira hummed. _It is probably already being eaten. _

_Even so, let's take a look._

It was easy to spot the location of the giant's corpse; steam was rising from it in great swirling clouds. The dragon landed on a nearby treetop, bending its crown to an alarming arch, but the rider did not worry it would break. The trees here were amazingly alike to the evergreens of Du Weldenvarden, even though they seemed to be a different species. From their lofty vantage point they looked at the slaughter before them.

_I have not seen them do that before._ Eragon said, a little disgusted. _Eating each other. They always seemed fine together. When I looked inside their minds, other giants did not seem important to them at all. What is so different about this one?_

_Let's find out._

Eragon extended his mind and looked inside one of the giants. He didn't like doing so. Their thoughts were dizzying and their view on the world depressing. Also, they ate humans and seeing himself as _prey_, even through someone else's eyes, was uncomfortable at best. But now he was curious what the womanly giant looked like in their eyes, why it was different. The thirty foot tall monster did not notice him entering his mind. Eragon gasped. The world was a dim place in its mind, made up of vague, opaque colours and grayish light. But not that one. Compared to the rest of the world, _that_ thing almost seemed to glow. Its flesh was a rich, saturated hue of red and pleasure became him as he stuck a bit of it in his mouth. Now his belly glowed too, not with colour, but with a delicious, satisfactory sense of fullness. With the meat in his belly he felt complete, and he was enjoying it. Eragon quickly drew back out of the warbled mind and held his hand before his mouth.

_It looks at that the same way it would look at you. _Saphira said.

_Yes, but that was definitely not a human. That was a giant._

_Maybe that giant had eaten so many humans she started to "shine" like one. There must be a reason they only ever pay attention to your kind._

_Maybe..._

_We can think about it later. That one is... unsalvageable. Let's meet up with Glaedr and hear our punishment._

Eragon sighed. He had almost forgotten about that.

_...yes. Let's do that. Maybe it won't be so bad if we- _

He fell silent when he spotted an irregularity. A small cluster of giants was standing underneath one of the mighty trees, looking up and trying to climb. Lying on one of the lower branches was the small form of a human. One arm was draped over the face, the other on the belly. A sword was clutched in both hands. Saphira sniffed the air.

_A woman._

_I wonder why she was left behind. Can you get closer? Maybe she's hurt._

The dragon took off, making the tree snap back with a loud _whoosh_ing noise and a crashing as branches snapped. The woman looked up and was obviously startled seeing them, jumping to her feet and lifting her swords. As Saphira flew over the branch in a low arc Eragon slipped off and landed in a crouch. The woman looked at him suspiciously, asking him some question. The Rider lifted his empty hands.

"I'm not going to hurt you." he said in a soothing tone. Then he pointed in the direction the other soldiers had gone in. "Were you left behind? Are you all right? Who are you? Oh man, I'm sorry. You don't understand a word I'm saying. Even so... would you like us to bring you home? There must be some place with more humans. I mean, they have an _army._" he laughed a little. Him talking had caused the woman to lower her swords, though she obviously didn't trust them yet. "Are you tired? You certainly look tired. And hungry. Why don't you come to my place and I make you some dinner before we head back? If you point the way then we can be back even before the other soldiers. So, what do you say?"

He stretched out his open hand as a friendly invitation. The woman was still looking at him with narrowed eyes. Then she seemed to make up her mind over something and stepped closer. She held one of her swords uncomfortably close to his throat, saying something in a low voice. He did not need to speak the language to understand the meaning of her threat. He nodded and smiled, and she sheathed her weapons, never taking her eyes off him. Saphira had landed on a nearby branch that was thick enough to support her weight. As they approached, she snaked out her neck and held her snout just a few inches from the woman's face. The lithe soldier froze in place as the dragon exposed her teeth, growling.

"_Saphira!"_ Eragon said, both mentally and out loud, so the human could also hear it. The dragon puffed out a little cloud of smoke before retreating.

"_We want her to like us, remember?_"

_No, _you_ want her to like us. _We, _want her to fear us._

Eragon grumbled, but didn't argue. He understood that she was only looking out for him. He walked past the woman and climbed on top of his dragon. Then he held out his hand, beckoning her to climb up behind him. For a minute, it seemed as though she wouldn't, but again she made up her mind. She was agile, he noted, almost rivaling his own and the elves'.

As soon as they were mounted, Saphira jumped off the branch, breaking through the treetops. A pair of arms slid around his waist and he heard a gasp when they flew over the forest. Saphira flew much higher than necessary, mounting a steady updraft. As they flew higher, the landscape spread out under them and into the distance like a fairth. In the distance, Eragon could see a close-knitted column of riders going north. Saphira then slid into a slow dive, flying to their tree-house in large circles. They would catch up with the soldiers later. First, he would get this young woman some food and then he would... he would talk to her, try to make her understand and have her tell him. He wanted to know everything there was to know about this place. There seemed to be a lot going on, with all the giants and the walls and the soldiers with their funny equipment, he wanted to know.

The first thing he did after landing was unsaddling Saphira. The stranger had sat down on one of his log-chairs. She looked very tired as she scrutinized every little detail of his makeshift home.

"I know it's not much," he said while putting his things away. "but I hadn't planned to stay for very long. And, now that you know where I live, I will probably have to leave soon. Oh well, I was getting bored of this place anyway. You are going to show me where the humans are, and I'll camp right next to it. Not too close, of course. Being too close to humans is why I had to leave home in the first place... Are you hungry? I know I am."

Eragon felt strangely giddy as he just babbled on. He made them some food: a few small seed cakes, raw and cooked vegetables with baked mushrooms and spring onions (picked the day before), plus a salad of edible flowers. He presented them on a large leaf lying on a piece of bark. The young woman took it and simply looked at it for a while.

_Maybe she thinks I'm poisoning her._ he said jokingly.

_Right now you are more likely to talk her to death._

_Ha-ha._

He sat down on the only other chair and stuck a piece of carrot in his mouth. Slowly, the other also started eating. It wasn't long before the crying began. The young woman scowled at her food while tears ran down her face. Eragon did not know what to do with himself as he saw the blonde begin to shake. He wanted to console her, to tell her that it was all going to be all right. He wanted to offer her something, but even without the language barrier he wouldn't have known what to do with a crying woman. Should he hug her? Pat her on the shoulder? But he didn't know her, and his innocent affections could be interpreted all wrong... And now he also felt really awkward eating by himself, so he put the platter away. He swallowed, hesitated for a moment and then walked over to her. He took the food (currently in the process of being spiced by tears) away and took her hands into his own. He felt way too awkward to look up at her, but this much he could do. For a moment the girl froze, but then, swift as a snake, she drew her hands back and struck him in the face, hard.

Eragon fell on his bum, shocked to the core. The stranger then stomped off. He watched her go, shoulders raised, her hands balled into fists, walking with short, decisive steps.

_Why would she do that?! _He asked Saphira, who had switched her growling for a chuckle.

_What is so funny? Am I missing something here? ...did I do something wrong?_

_No, little one. You did something right._

_Then why did she hit me?_

The dragon chuckled mysteriously.

Eragon just sat there, looking in the direction the girl had ran off to, feeling extremely frustrated. In his mind, he examined his and her actions again and again, but he did not find anything he could have done that much better. He was out of his depth here. Was it a cultural thing then? He felt very much tempted to just go into her mind to find out. He only refrained from doing so because of something Brom had taught him when he had first began to learn how to read minds. He had told Eragon that a person's mind is their last sanctuary, and that you should respect people's privacy. Especially if you are more powerful than them. He had read dozens of minds without asking permission during the war, but those had been different times. Everyone had been a potential assassin or spy. But that was in the past now. It was time to live a life he felt good about living, not one the elves had taught him to. So he didn't read her thoughts, however tempted he might be.

But then what? She clearly didn't want his help, but her distress still bothered him. She had been staying in _his _house when she ran off crying. And Saphira wasn't going to be of any help either.

_What would I know of your human women?_ She said, clearly enjoying herself. Grumbling, Eragon went to fetch his mirror. But who would he call? His first thought went to Arya, but he quickly put her out of his mind. She wasn't even human. That, and their last conversation had left a bitter aftertaste. Roran then? No, his cousin would only ridicule him. He thought about Katrina, but he could not think of a way to tell Roran he called to talk with _only _his wife for a while. It would make him curious and he knew the couple held few secrets to each other. Eragon didn't want to start any weird rumors. That left him with Nasuada. The longer he thought about it, the more sense it made to him. Yes, the young queen would know what he should do.

"Eragon" she said when she appeared in the mirror. She was sitting at a table, twirling a fork between her fingers.

"Your highness" he answered, bobbing his head. "I hope I did not disturb your... lunch?"

"Breakfast, actually. And I suppose not, as I am not entertaining guests this morning." She delicately put a piece of egg in her mouth, chewed, swallowed, and then resumed speaking. "Now then what is the reason for this unexpected call?"

Eragon shifted uncomfortably.

"I was wondering... If you could teach me something about women."

Nasuada's hand dropped, clattering her fork against her plate, which made him wince.

"What's this? Has our great hero found love in the distant east?" she said, laughing.

"No, nothing like that!" he quickly protested. He could feel heat rising to his face. "It's just that... she was really distressed, and I don't know what I did wrong. It's the first time I met people in these lands, and I really don't want to spoil it. But somehow, I think I did. And now I simply don't know what to do... I'm sorry. I suppose I sound rather childish and selfish right now. I- I'll..."

"No, no, it's all right. Tell me what happened first." said the queen, sitting back and smiling. "You're making me curious."

So Eragon told her about how he had seen the soldiers in the woods, the fight with the giants and meeting the abandoned woman in the woods.

"...so this woman has obviously just been through a very traumatic experience, and the only thing you could think of was to feed her, and talk to her."

"Well, I knew she was upset; I didn't know what to do about that. I really just wanted to talk to her..."

The queen sighed. "And when she started crying you picked up her hands."

"Yes, that's when she hit me."

"Eragon, I don't think you really did something wrong, but sometimes a person just needs some space. If that soldier had been a man, what would you have done?"

It was hard to admit, but when he thought about it he really had treated her like a girl, and not as a soldier. He would have done it differently if it had been anything but a small blond woman.

"...nothing, I suppose. I'd have... looked away for a bit, I guess."

"That's right. She had been battling for her life just before that moment. Of course her instinct would be to fight."

"Okay... so I shouldn't have done that."

"No, I think it was actually kind of sweet. She'll remember that."

Now Eragon was _really _confused. He was about to protest when Nasuada said:

"Ah, never mind. Just do as you normally do, Eragon. It'll be fine."

"...okay."

This talk had taught him next to nothing. He now knew why she had hit him, but he still... A crackle of bark behind him alerted the Rider to the stranger's approach. He looked up and saw the young woman nearing hesitantly. Her eyes were red from tears, but she still wore the same scowl. She softly said something, looking down. Eragon shook his head, puzzled. She then pointed at his face, and said it again, this time louder, with a hint of arrogant nonchalance. Oh, Eragon realised. She is apologizing.

He smiled and shook his shoulders.

"Don't worry about it." he said, looking down upon her happily.

"Would that be all, Eragon?" Nasuada said, jolting him.

"Ah, yes, sorry. Thank you, your highness. May the stars shine bright upon you."

"And on you, Shadeslayer."

The woman looked interested in the mirror, but she didn't ask. Or couldn't ask. Or maybe both. It was clear to him that she was on the point of making a decision. What it was, he didn't know.

What he did know was that it involved him and Saphira.


End file.
